The Chicago Palestine Film Festival (CPFF) is an independent organization based in Chicago that exhibits and promotes films by Palestinian directors and films about Palestine. CPFF is dedicated to presenting a film festival that is open, critical, and reflective of the culture, experience and vision of the filmmakers.

Schedule:

Saturday, April 29, 2023

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Opening Night: Foragers

We open the 22nd annual Chicago Palestine Film Festival with a small reception featuring concessions, photos and mingling. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. The film will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m.

FORAGERS

2022, dir. Jumana Manna
Palestine, 65min.
In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles

Foragers moves between documentary and fiction to depict the dramas between the Israeli Nature Protection Authority and Palestinian foragers. With a wry sense of humor, the film captures the inherited love, resilience and knowledge of these traditions, over an eminently political backdrop.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

MAQLUBA
2022, dir. Shady Mawajdeh
United States, 28min.

A story about family, fatherhood, and food, told from the eyes of a grieving son.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Sunday, April 30, 2023

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Borderline

BORDERLINE

2020, dirs. Benoît Bizard and Antoine Bonzon
France, Palestine, 52min.
In Arabic and English with English subtitles

Borderline takes us on to meet Ivan, Ranim, Taleen, Sari and Abu Sofiane through an immersion in the various places they live in, under occupation. From various musical influences – rap, punk-rock, classical or traditional music – and different generations, the musicians all share a passion for music, a common sense of vital craving for freedom, of sharing their voices and being heard.

Preceded by the following short films:

I WISHED YOU WERE THERE
2022, dir. Hayat Labban
Palestine, 5min.

Hanen returns to her old home, the place she was born and spent her whole childhood in, trying to get back her forgotten memories.

ANGEL OF GAZA
2021, dir. Ahmed Mansour
United States, Palestine, 23min

A 10-year Malak narrates her family's arduous journey of romance, sacrifice and reunification with her father, in the US, after 7-year of forced separation.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM: Tantura (University of Chicago)

TANTURA

2022, Alon Schwarz
94min.
In Arabic and English with English subtitles

When Israeli graduate student Teddy Katz meticulously documented a massacre of Palestinian civilians surrounding Israel's independence, he was initially celebrated for his groundbreaking work. But soon, he was stripped of his degrees and was publicly shamed as a fraudulent traitor. Decades later, incendiary new evidence emerges to corroborate Teddy's initial findings, not just vindicating him, but raising profound questions about how Israelis — and we all — deal with the darker chapters of history.

Location: Ida Noyes Hall, University of Chicago, 1212 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Mediterranean Fever

MEDITERRANEAN FEVER

2022, dir. Maha Haj
Palestine, Germany, France, Cyprus, Qatar, 108min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

Waleed lives in Haifa with his wife and children and dreams of a writing career while suffering from chronic depression. He develops a close relationship with his neighbor (a small-time crook) with an ulterior plot in mind. While the scheme turns into an unexpected friendship between the two men, it leads them into a journey of dark encounters.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

SAMIA
2021, dir. Hamza Al-Khatib
Jordan, 13min.

Samia, a young aspiring dancer, is diagnosed with cancer, causing her to withdraw from life and isolate herself. Her husband Samir, desperate to lift her spirits, turns to music for help.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Friday, May 5, 2023

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Alam

ALAM

2022, dir. Firas Khoury
France, Tunisia, Palestine, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, 109min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

In a Palestinian town, Tamer and his friends lead a typical high school student's life until the arrival of the beautiful Maysaa'. He soon discovers her plan to lead a symbolic act of resistance, and must decide whether to join the struggle. In his first feature, Firas Khoury combines familiar elements of other coming-of-age movies with a more serious and subtle analysis of nationalism, propaganda, the symbolism of flags and, most importantly, what freedom really means.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

WALLS CANNOT KEEP US FROM FLYING
2021, dir. Jonathan Mehring
United States, Palestine, 13min.

Omar and Yasmeen, through their love of skateboarding, challenge the barriers set by both the occupation and their own society.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Saturday, May 6, 2023

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM: The Devil's Drivers

THE DEVIL’S DRIVERS

2021, dirs. Daniel Carsenty and Mohammed Abugeth
France, Germany, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, 90min.
In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles

Chased by the army, a human trafficker crosses the border on a daily basis. An intimate yet harrowing portrait – shot over the course of eight years – about a man living on the edge in one of the most dangerous regions of our world.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

BETWEEN THE BARRICADES
2022, dir. Jude Elziq
United Arab Emirates, 11min.

In the midst of a military curfew, young Aya must find the courage to keep her passion for soccer alive.

CLIMBING OVER THE WALL
2022, dir. Hareth Yousef
Palestine, 15min

In this short experimental documentary, photographer Hareth Yousef juxtaposes his experiences of crossing to Jerusalem “illegally” in 2014 and “legally” in 2022.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Waiting for Gaza

WAITING FOR GAZA

2021, dirs. Guillaume Kozakiewiez
France, 74min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

Waiting for Gaza follows Arab and Tarzan Abu Nasser to the heart of their twinship, their history of what both haunts them and pushes them to do cinema. Little by little, their life and work merge, as the line between reality and fiction fades away, blurring the tracks.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

BOREKAS
2020, dir. Saleh Saadi
Palestine, 15min

A breakdown on the way to the airport provides a father and son with an opportunity to reconnect.

LAST MAY IN PALESTINE
2022, dir. Rabeea Eid
Palestine, 20min.

Journalist Rabeea Eid recounts his story of returning to Palestine after the assassination of journalist Shereen Abu-Akleh.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Saturday, May 13, 2023

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Tantura (Gene Siskel)

TANTURA

2022, Alon Schwarz
94min.
In Arabic and English with English subtitles

When Israeli graduate student Teddy Katz meticulously documented a massacre of Palestinian civilians surrounding Israel's independence, he was initially celebrated for his groundbreaking work. But soon, he was stripped of his degrees and was publicly shamed as a fraudulent traitor. Decades later, incendiary new evidence emerges to corroborate Teddy's initial findings, not just vindicating him, but raising profound questions about how Israelis — and we all — deal with the darker chapters of history.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

I AM FROM PALESTINE
2022, dir. Iman Zawahry
United States, 6min.

As Saamidah, a young Palestinian-American girl, anxiously starts her first day of school, she finds her identity in question when faced with a world map that doesn't include her homeland.

THE LAST DAYS OF APRIL
2021, dirs. Laurence Buelens and Jean Forest
Belgium, 24min

A documentary tale about the fate of a small Palestinian village, saved from destruction in 1949 thanks to the cunning of a handful of inhabitants.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Sunday, May 14, 2023

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: CLOSING DAY: Boycott

BOYCOTT

2021, dir. Julia Bacha
United States, 73min.
In English

When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 33 states in America.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND
2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

I AM FROM PALESTINE
2022, dir. Iman Zawahry
United States, 6min.

As Saamidah, a young Palestinian-American girl, anxiously starts her first day of school, she finds her identity in question when faced with a world map that doesn't include her homeland.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Date:

April 29, 2023 - May 14, 2023

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